Historical records place the castle here as early as 1574, when it belonged to one ‘Gyllernew Odonellan’, likely a member of the O’Donnellan family who held sway in this part of Galway during the medieval period. By 1947, Ordnance Survey mapmakers could still identify the castle’s location, marking it with a cross symbol within what appeared to be a semicircular enclosure, but today only subtle earthworks hint at its former presence.

What does survive is the castle’s defensive enclosure, a fascinating remnant that tells us something about how these minor fortifications were constructed. The semicircular earthwork stretches roughly 53 metres from east to west, defined by two weathered banks with a defensive ditch, or fosse, running between them. This curved fortification sweeps from the east, around the southern side, and terminates at the west; its northern edge appears to have been cut through by a later field boundary. Sharp eyes can still spot what might be the remains of an old causeway at the southeast corner, presumably where defenders and visitors once entered the enclosure.

The interior of this ancient stronghold reveals further complexity, with several banks still visible within the protected area, suggesting internal divisions or perhaps the foundations of buildings that once stood here. Intriguingly, another possible enclosure lies just north of the field boundary, potentially part of the same defensive complex or a related settlement. These earthworks, recorded in the Archaeological Inventory of County Galway, offer a tangible connection to the Gaelic lordships that once controlled this landscape, their castles and fortified houses serving as both homes and symbols of power in an era when control of land meant everything.